Significance of metal exchange in EDDS-flushing column experiments

Chelating agents have been widely studied for extracting heavy metals from contaminated soils, and the effectiveness of EDDS ([S,S]-ethylene-diamine-disuccinic acid) has aroused extensive attention because of its biodegradability in the natural environment. However, in the course of EDDS-flushing, metal exchange of newly extracted metal-EDDS complexes with other sorbed metals and mineral cations may result in metal re-adsorption on the soil surfaces. Therefore, this study investigated the relative significance of metal exchange under different travel distances of chelant complexes, characteristics of soil contamination, and solution pH in the column experiments. As a result of metal exchange, the elution of Zn and Pb was retarded and the cumulative extraction was lower than those of Ni and Cu, especially over a longer travel distance. Compared with the field-contaminated soils, the effects of metal exchange were even more substantial in the artificially contaminated soil because of a greater amount of extractable metals and a larger proportion of weakly bound fractions. By contrast, metal exchange was insignificant at pH 8, probably due to less adsorption of metal-EDDS complexes. These findings highlight the conditions under which metal exchange of metal-EDDS complexes and the resulting impacts are more significant during EDDS-flushing.     

Sequential female choice and the previous male effect in sticklebacks

Summary Female choice, identified as a major force in sexual selection theory, has recently been demonstrated in a number of species. These tests concentrated on simultaneous choice situations although females have to compare males sequentially in most territorial species, which is the more demanding task. Here it is shown that female three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., rate sequentially presented males according to their brightness. With increasing costs of sampling the females become less choosy. Furthermore, a male's attractiveness has a significant effect on the female's rating of the next male; a given male is rated higher when preceded by a duller male than by a brighter one and vice versa. Female sticklebacks use a stochastic decision rule in sequential mate choice that is attuned to the attractiveness of the present and previously encountered male. This demonstration of a previous male effect not only indicates an efficient mechanism for finding the best of a number of males but also extends the applicability of sexual selection theory.Offprint requests to: T.C.M. Bakker     

Development of bacteria and benthic total maximum daily loads: a case study, Linville Creek, Virginia

Two total maximum daily load (TMDL) studies were performed for Linville Creek in Rockingham County, Virginia, to address bacterial and benthic impairments. The TMDL program is an integrated watershed management approach required by the Clean Water Act. This paper describes the procedures used by the Center for TMDL and Watershed Studies at Virginia Tech to develop the Linville Creek TMDLs and discusses the key lessons learned from and the ramifications of the procedures used in these and other similar TMDL studies. The bacterial impairment TMDL was developed using the Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF). Fecal coliform loads were estimated through an intensive source characterization process. The benthic impairment TMDL was developed using the Generalized Watershed Loading Function (GWLF) model and the reference watershed approach. The bacterial TMDL allocation scenario requires a 100% reduction in cattle manure direct-deposits to the stream, a 96% reduction in nonpoint-source loadings to the land surface, and a 95% reduction in wildlife direct-deposits to the stream. Sediment was identified as the primary benthic stressor. The TMDL allocation scenario for the benthic impairment requires an overall reduction of 12.3% of the existing sediment loads. Despite the many drawbacks associated with using watershed-scale models like HSPF and GWLF to develop TMDLs, the detailed watershed and pollutant-source characterization required to use these and similar models creates information that stakeholders need to select appropriate corrective measures to address the cause of the water quality impairment when implementing the TMDL.     

Functional variation of sperm morphology in sticklebacks

Some theoretical models of sperm competition make the assumption that in fish species with external fertilisation, sperm length relates positively to swimming speed at the expense of sperm longevity. Few studies have tested this assumption. We used the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., to study functional sperm morphology. In this study, the relationship between males’ mean sperm length and fertilisation rate was investigated in vitro in a non-competitive situation. Fertilisation at different time points after sperm release was taken into account, and sperm morphology was quantified from scanning electron microscopy images. The time series of artificial fertilisations demonstrated that males which produced sperm with a longer tail fertilised faster, but their sperm had a shorter lifespan (or activity period). It was further suggested that males that produced sperm with a larger midpiece had greater fertilisation chances later on in the fertilisation process. Thus, in sticklebacks, there exists functional variation in sperm morphology, and sperm tail length is traded off against sperm longevity (or activity).     

Schwermetalle in Regenwürmern Baden-Württembergs Teil 2: ?kotoxikologische Bewertung des Bodens

Methoden  

Zur Bewertung der gemessenen Schwermetallbelastungen des Bodens wurden sog. Risiko-Kennlinien für die Metalle Blei, Cadmium, Kupfer, Nickel und Zink entwickelt, die eine einheitliche Charakterisierung von Bodengehalten im Hinblick auf ihre Wirkung auf den Regenwurm sowie auf naturr?umliche Gegebenheiten erm?glichen. Die Mobilit?t der Metalle, die für die biologische Wirkung entscheidender ist als der Gesamtgehalt im Boden, wurde bei der Bewertung berücksichtigt.     

Males do not see only red: UV wavelengths and male territorial aggression in the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Animal colour signals serve important functions in intraspecific interactions, including species recognition, mate choice and agonistic behaviour. An increasing interest concerns ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths, for instance studies on the effect of UV in mating decisions. More recently, some studies also established that UV signals affect intrasexual interactions. We studied the role of UV during aggressive encounters between male three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), a species in which UV has an effect on female and male mate choice and shoaling behaviour. To that aim, we compared the aggressive response of a territorial male to male intruders, either seen in UV-including (UV+) or UV-lacking (UV-) conditions. Our prediction was that, if UV wavelengths are used in male-male competition, a territorial male should show less competitive behaviour towards an intruder representing a lower threat, i.e. the one presented without UV light. Male sticklebacks showed significantly lower levels of aggression towards male opponents lacking an UV component to their coloration than male opponents possessing this colour component. Discrimination was not influenced by a difference in brightness between the UV+ and UV- stimuli. Finally, we present some reflectance-spectrophotometrical data of two skin regions (cheek and abdomen) of the experimental males and analysed relationships between colorimetric variables, body variables and behaviour. Our study emphasises that UV visual cues are of importance in different communicational tasks in the three-spined stickleback.     

Improving species status assessments under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and implications for multispecies conservation challenges worldwide

Despite its successes, the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) has proven challenging to implement due to funding limitations, workload backlog, and other problems. As threats to species survival intensify and as more species come under threat, the need for the ESA and similar conservation laws and policies in other countries to function efficiently has grown. Attempts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to streamline ESA decisions include multispecies recovery plans and habitat conservation plans. We address species status assessment (SSA), a USFWS process to inform ESA decisions from listing to recovery, within the context of multispecies and ecosystem planning. Although existing SSAs have a single-species focus, ecosystem-based research can efficiently inform multiple SSAs within a region and provide a foundation for transition to multispecies SSAs in the future. We considered at-risk grassland species and ecosystems within the southeastern United States, where a disproportionate number of rare and endemic species are associated with grasslands. To initiate our ecosystem-based approach, we used a combined literature-based and structured World Café workshop format to identify science needs for SSAs. Discussions concentrated on 5 categories of threats to grassland species and ecosystems, consistent with recommendations to make shared threats a focus of planning under the ESA: (1) habitat loss, fragmentation, and disruption of functional connectivity; (2) climate change; (3) altered disturbance regimes; (4) invasive species; and (5) localized impacts. For each threat, workshop participants identified science and information needs, including database availability, research priorities, and modeling and mapping needs. Grouping species by habitat and shared threats can make the SSA process and other planning processes for conservation of at-risk species worldwide more efficient and useful. We found a combination of literature review and structured discussion effective for identifying the scientific information and analysis needed to support the development of multiple SSAs. Article impact statement: Species status assessments can be improved by an ecosystem-based approach that groups imperiled species by shared habitats and threats.     

Decline of the Shasta Crayfish (Pacifastacus fortis Faxon) of Northeastern California

Native freshwater faunas in North America are declining, principally due to the combined effects of habitat degradation and introduced species. Relatively little attention has been directed to the decline of freshwater invertebrates, which may be even more threatened than fishes. This paper chronicles recent changes in the distribution and abundance of the Shasta crayfish ( Pacifastacus fortis Faxon), a state and federally endangered species endemic to the midreaches of the Pit River system in northeastern California. We made snorkeling and SCUBA surveys for crayfish in 1990 and 1991 and examined various records for historic distributions. Shasta crayfish have been extirpated from much of their historic range by water impoundment and diversion, and they are further threatened by two introduced crayfish species ( Pacifastacus leniusculus Dana and Orconectes virilis Hagen). By 1990 Shasta crayfish were restricted to seven isolated populations, mostly in the headwaters of spring-fed tributaries to the Pit river. P. leniusculus had become established throughout much of the study area in about 12 years. In one site P. leniusculus probably contributed to the precipitous decline of Shasta crayfish, from 2000–3000 in 1980 to about 370 (± 135) in 1991. O. virilis , which occurred in only the most disturbed parts of the system, showed little range expansion in 30 years and had been replaced in a large stretch of the Pit River by P. leniusculus. P. leniusculus occupied sites with a broad range of habitat variables (temperature, pH, turbidity, substrate size) partly or wholly overlapping measures of sites with the other two species. The decline of the Shasta crayfish, like the extinction of its closest relative P. nigrescens in the San Francisco Bay area earlier this century, reflects the decline of its habitat and probably pressure from the aggressive exotic P. leniusculus .     

Sex-specific conditional mating preferences in a cichlid fish: implications for sexual conflict

Conditional mating strategies enable individuals to modulate their mating behaviour depending on ‘individual status’ to maximise fitness. Theory predicts that variation in individual quality can lead to differences in mating preferences. However, empirical evidence is scarce particular in terms of variation in male and female strategies. Here, we experimentally investigated quality-dependent variation in mating preferences concerning reliable quality indicators in Pelvicachromis taeniatus, a colourful cichlid fish with mutual mate choice and ornamentation. Males as well as females were artificially manipulated in phenotypic quality by different feeding regimes. Ornamentation was connected to individual quality in both sexes. Males and females showed conditional mating strategies in different directions. Males showed prudent choice by preferring females of similar quality. In contrast to males, low-quality females preferred highly ornamented males, whereas high-quality females showed neither preferences for high- nor for low-quality males. The results suggest that individuals aim for specific benefits depending on individual quality. Furthermore, the conflicting conditional mating preferences of males and females might lead to sexual conflict, implicating a highly dynamical mating system that evolves even in absence of environmental changes.